Following Jacob Milliron

09/23/2024

Our cousin Tim Milliron wrote a little book based on the information I gathered here. He weaved a continuing story that injects personality and home life of the Jacob Milliron Family. It’s not entirely factual, but it’s a fun read. Copies are for sale on Amazon.

In 1750, Johann Jacob Muehleisen boarded a passenger ship called Patience. He traveled from Western Germany to the New World seeking opportunities for him and his family. A skilled blacksmith, Jacob embarked on a journey to fulfill his dream of freedom and land ownership. Would Jacob realize his ...

05/27/2023

Here’s a good account of family heraldic symbols (wappen) associated with “Mill Irons.” Unfortunately it’s in German, but you can get the gist. If you indicate/select text, you might get a prompt to translate. I did.

Einführung in die Heraldik: Blasonierung

07/22/2022

I've always wondered about the tract named "Heirs of Jacob Milliron." Recently I found a legal brief on a matter before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that might explain the title. I'm posting the brief here so you can read it and decide what it says, because I'm still a bit confused.

From what I gather, Jacob claimed more than the legal limit of acres, so the surveyor was unable to file results of most of the "Heirs" tract. Jacob was supposed to amend his claim, but it seems he didn't do it properly. However, he did file some legal document that placed the land in trust for his heirs, but that was not sufficient. Some crafty person noticed the discrepancy after Jacob died and made claim to the tract. The heirs fought it all the way up to the PA Supreme Court, where the judges ruled in their favor because Jacob's intent was clear. If you Google "Merchant vs. Milliron," you will find that the case was used as precedent in a number of similar land disputes.

07/20/2022

Followers of Jacob Milliron know that there used to be a log structure alongside the house, which is situated near Rt. 66 at Racetrack Road. The owner, Mr. Miller, took it down about a dozen years ago, citing a safety hazard. People have often described it as Jacob's blacksmith shop, and legend has it that a hole near the door that you can see in the photos was for shooting at Indian attackers. I think it's just a hole. Also, it was much too small to accomodate smithing activities. What is certain is that it served as a spring house for fresh water and storing food. The remains of the spring can still be seen in the foundation below the overhang. It was described in a sale notice around 1808 as a "never-ending spring." Another possible use was what settlers called a "summer kitchen,” to which they would retreat in the hot summer months because the main house was unventilated, and most often there was a fire going for cooking.

Thanks to Cousin Nancy Andjelich Margraff for these photos, which are the best I have seen of the old building.

07/18/2022

David Levi Milliron was the last Milliron to live in the old estate. He was the second-youngest son of John Henry Milliron, who passed away just after David was born. His younger brother, John, lived nearby, just a little northeast of David on the maps. The oldest Son, Daniel, moved to Mercer County. You can see David in the brown 1867 map here just above NEW STANTON. The blue map is 1876, which is a couple years after he died. It shows an R. Miller living there. I haven't been able to find an "R" Miller, but people of that family still live in the old house. The man in the blue shirt is a Miller that lived there when I first visited. He passed away several years ago, but not before showing me around the property and inside the house. He told me that some of the interior walls behind the plaster were log walls. There are Millers in the Milliron Cemetery, but I'm not sure if they are the same branch. There are just too many Millers in the vicinity to sort out. Later censuses indicate a David Miller living near the "Delmont-Greensburg Road," which of course is the current Route 66 that runs right beside the house. The final photo here is the grave of David Levi.

01/26/2022

I’ve been communicating with a very nice man from Ellern, Germany, which is adjacent to Riesweiler, where Jacob Mühleisen lived. In fact, he’s related to us on his maternal side. I expressed regret that there were no longer any Mühleisens in the area, and he informed me that there are, but the name in his area has changed to Mühleis. Years ago I did a surname search that indicated most Mühleisens are concentrated in the state of Baden-Württemberg, which you can see on the map here on the left. On the other map, you can see concentrations of Mühleis families in Württemberg, Jacob’s Hünsruck, and Westphalia (Cologne).

01/12/2022

1. Pulpit In old Harrold's Church; 2. Pulpit as it sits now in the Milliron Church; 3. Sacrament table constructed from unidentified gravestones.

My granddaughter is the model!

01/12/2022

This photo was buried In the comments of the last post, so I'm using It again to talk some more about Milliron Church. It appears to have been taken In 1949 before the restoration was undertaken in the 50's. That effort was mounted by a group of Reformers led by Reverend Joseph Kim of the First Trinity UCC of Youngwood.

It's not known when the first building was erected, but it somewhat coincided with the recruitment of Reverend Weber about 1783. Of course, the first building was a log structure, which was later replaced by a wood frame building on the same foundation.

Reverend Weber presided until his death In 1816. According to an oral tale, a large crowd came to his funeral. When It came time to put him in the ground, dark clouds moved in overhead, causing the Reverend to be dumped in rather hastily. Everybody Immediately jumped In their wagons and carriages and beat a retreat. Being the superstitious Germans that they were, that was thought to be a sign, and many people avoided the church for years after. A hardy few kept on, but the congregation gradually dwindled until it was finally dissolved In 1869.

By 1949 there was little left but a weathered frame and roof. The restoration folks had to replace everything else. Two items from the past were added. The first was the old pulpit from Harrold's Church. It dates from 1782 and is thought to be the oldest pulpit west of the Alleghenies. It sits on a large tree stump fabricated in restoration. When the Harrold's congregation moved to the "Stone Church" in 1829, somebody carried the old pulpit away and stored It under their porch. It was discovered years later and donated to the restoration. The second Item Is a sacrament table that is constructed from old stones in the cemetery that could not be read.

I believe this is the final post regarding the church, so I'm taking the opportunity again to ask that people consider donating for the upkeep of this old Milliron treasure. Contributions can be mailed to:

Penn West Conference
312 South Maple Avenue - suite PWC
Greensburg, PA 15601
Att: Kris Long

01/10/2022

I was doing some deep diving into Pennsylvania-German records and found this old photo of the Milliron Church. Those of you that have visited know that the surrounding area is heavily wooded these days. I've encountered this before in old photos of Hempfield - that the land was heavily cleared. This was typical of German settlements In which the landowners strived to put every foot of their land to good use.

Somebody here once sent me a photo of the ruins of the church, taken before the restoration in the 50's. I can't find that photo now, so I hope that person, whoever you are, will send it again so I can share it.

11/03/2021

This a heads-up to alert everybody that I intend to soon change the name of this group. Somebody else has begun using the name to promote an actual Milliron Reunion, so I can’t assuredly direct people here anymore by telling them to search it. I’m going to wait a week for people to read this so they aren’t confused when they get a Facebook alert about the name.

Anybody have a good idea for a new name? I’m thinking about “Following Jacob Milliron.”

11/01/2021

Good news and bad news.

I've been communicating with another expert on Hünsruck genealogy, and he confirmed that our Jacob was definitely born to Bernhard Mühleisen of Riesweiler, between 1721 and 1725. I resisted the Idea when it was given to me before because the name "Bernhard" was not repeated anywhere In subsequent generations. Given that fact, perhaps there was a schism between Jacob and his father. Maybe Jacob moved to America to get away from whatever the problem might have been.

I still believe the first generations of Mühleissens lived in Rheinböllen and Dichtelbach, but Bernard made his way to Riesweiler, where he was taxed In 1721 and still lived there up to at least 1742. Unfortunately, the Protestants in Riesweiler attended church in nearby Argenthal, and those records were destroyed in a 1796 fire set by occupying French soldiers. Thus we have very little more Information about Riesweiler births, deaths, and marriages.

However, there is a record of a brother to Jacob - Johann Peter Mühleisen. He was born in 1720 and died November 12, 1780 in Altweidelbach, where the record was found. He married Christina Müller on April 26, 1746. She was born March 21, 1723, and died on March 28, 1761 in Altweidelbach. They had at least four children.

The bad news here is that I'm personally responsible for the many online references to Dichtelbach Jacob, 1719. So I'm going to be spending a lot of time trying to correct those errant trees. If you are among the many people that were misled into adding Dichtelbach Jacob to an internet site, please try to correct that ASAP.